A NEW indoor padel centre with five courts is coming to Kendal.
Plans have been approved by Westmorland and Furness Council to build the new sporting centre in a warehouse at Castle Mills Business Park, Aynam Road.
The proposal, lodged by Blackpool-based Performance Padel Ltd, was approved on December 11.
The application reads: "Kendal has been identified as their first location in Cumbria with their aim being to develop a high quality padel facility which promotes health and wellbeing.
"Internally, five padel tennis courts will be provided within the building, along with changing rooms and welfare facilities, a reception/café area and staff facilities."
Padel tennis, also known as 'padel', is a cross between tennis and squash.
It is usually played in doubles on an enclosed court, around a third of the size of a standard tennis court.
Players use a racket and a small, soft ball to play and, similar to squash, the ball can be bounced off the walls that surround the court.
According to the application, 'padel' is 'one of the fastest growing sports in the world'.
The sports governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association, published a report that the number of courts in the UK has increased by 600 per cent since 2019 to a total of 350 across the country.
A neighbour's response to the application reads: "As someone who is itching to be able to padel tennis more often, it would be great to have a facility in Kendal. There are no other facilities close by with the only other facility in Cumbria being in Workington.
"It's a rapidly growing sport and is in my opinion more accessible than other racket sports, making it suitable for a really wide range of people / abilities."
The officer's report read: "It is considered that the proposed Change of Use to Class E(d), indoor sport as a padel tennis facility can be supported in policy terms due to its location in the Canal Head area adjacent to the town centre.
"The loss of employment land is an important consideration but if weighed against the benefits of the proposal in terms of providing a new health facility it is considered justifiable in this case."